One of the surprising details that came to light during the recent debate over local police agencies outfitting themselves with surplus military equipment was the remarkable level of freedom police departments enjoyed in requesting weapons, armored personnel carriers, aircraft and other items. In many places, it was done without local public debate over whether communities wanted their police to be that heavily armed. That is changing at the federal level, and is the subject of a bill working its way through the California Legislature in Sacramento.

Twenty-five state lawmakers flew to Maui in November to attend a conference that was partly funded by a group of special interests, but it was not until Tuesday that all of their identities were made public when they were required to file annual gift...

Aiming to close a legal loophole that allowed L.A. Unified attorneys to argue that a 14-year-old girl could consent to sex with her teacher, a state assemblywoman introduced a bill Monday that would bar that defense in civil cases.
Assemblywoman Nora...

Californians who let their lawns die during a drought won't risk a slap on the wrist from their homeowners' associations, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday.
The measure prohibits homeowners' associations from imposing fines on...

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law a measure aimed at reducing deportations of legal immigrants who are convicted of misdemeanors.
The measure, SB 1310, was one of 24 bills signed by the governor, among them a ban on homeowners associations...

advertisement

RELATED TOPICS

Los Angeles County leaders are once again on the wrong side of government transparency in their opposition to a bill that would prevent them from banning criticism of elected and appointed officials during public comment time at meetings.
The Ralph M. Brown Act, California's open meetings law, protects the right of people to have meaningful input into their local governments' decision-making, in public, at the time and the place where their elected officials meet. That right necessarily includes the...

SACRAMENTO -- Under a provision tucked into budget legislation by the state Senate, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission would be exempt from a proposal intended to prevent commissioners from spending agency-related funds that receive less public oversight.
A dispute over the proposal pits the two houses of the Legislature against each other and threatens to hold up other measures aimed at increasing scrutiny of the commission, which regulates the energy, telecommunications and...

SACRAMENTO — Closing a loophole in California's rape law, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a bill clarifying that an attacker who impersonates someone else to coerce a victim into sexual activity can be prosecuted for rape.
He also approved a measure cracking down on so-called swatting calls made by pranksters claiming false emergencies, often at celebrities' addresses, to draw out police.
The rape bill was in response to a recent Court of Appeal decision that overturned the rape conviction...

Nora Campos Photos

This post has been updated. See the note at the bottom for details.
SACRAMENTO -- A new bill introduced Monday would impose new reporting requirements for crimes occurring at colleges and universities, a response to reports that several California schools did not fully disclose on-campus sexual assaults.
The bill, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), would require colleges to report violent crimes and hate crimes on or near campus to local law enforcement for investigation, unless the victim...

A Hollywood manager who specialized in representing young actors pleaded no contest Friday to two counts of child molestation and was released from county jail that afternoon.
Martin Weiss, 47, faced eight felony counts of molesting an aspiring singer and musician he once represented. He entered a no-contest plea to two counts of committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge...